This invention relates to an improved hay feeding apparatus mounted on a vehicle bed which includes a hay walker for separating portions of a bale of hay and discharging the separated hay into a windrow alongside the vehicle.
In feeding hay to animals, an operator often loads hay on a vehicle bed, transports the hay to a feeding area, and then feeds the hay by placing the vehicle in motion at a low speed and getting on the bed and then breaking up the bales by hand to feed them as the vehicle moves slowly ahead. This can be done in relative safety on large, open ranch lands, but the operator does not have complete control over the entire feeding operations when he leaves the cab and moves to the back of a vehicle to break up the bales. Alternatively, the feeding operation can be accomplished with two people: one in the cab, and one on the bed breaking up the bales.
When large cylindrical hay bales are being used, the operator may utilize a spindle mounted on the front of a tractor to unroll the cylindrical bale during the feeding operation. Generally only one bale can be unrolled at one time using this method. This limitation of feeding only one large cylindrical bale at a time is a constraint that limits the effectiveness of this method of feeding hay.
Neither of these techniques allow one operator to perform all the feeding tasks from a cab where the operator remains in control over all the functions associated with picking up multiple bales of the hay, transporting the hay, and then breaking up the bales sequentially to feed the bales of hay carried by the vehicle.
Presently, there are several different types of bales being used in feeding operations including small rectangular bales, large cylindrical bales, and large rectangular bales. Hay feeding machines have been developed to carry multiple bales of hay of various sizes and to breakup these bales to feed them, although in many cases, the machines developed to breakup bales have been limited to just one specific type of bale. An example of a machine for feeding multiple cylindrical bales is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,427 to While et al., which illustrates a method and machinery for loading and breaking up this type of bale. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,426 to White et al., which illustrates a device which breaks up large, rectangular bales. In both instances the devices used to tear apart the bales are shredder rollers which rotate along one edge of a bale to separate hay from the bale as the hay is being urged into the shredder rollers.
Other machines have been developed to breakup bales of different sizes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,032 to Jellis, Jr. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,081 to Ritter et al. each illustrate machinery which utilize rotating drums for separating hay from a bale. Again in each instance, the mechanism for separating hay from a bale is a rotating drum having extending radial rippers. The rippers strip a portion of hay from a bale as the bale is being urged into the rotating drums.
A problem encountered when using rotating drum-like devices for separating hay from a bale is that these rotating drums tend to clog. Binder twine, baling wire, and long fibrous stems in the hay have a natural tendency to wrap around the drums instead of falling free. Once a rope-like object begins to wrap around a drum, that portion of the rotating drum loses its effectiveness in further separating hay from a bale. In addition, the object clogging the drum also tends to pick up more material as the drum continues to rotate, which in turn exacerbates the clog. When the drums, which have a heavy bale urged against the bale-accepting side of the drum, become unusably clogged, it is extremely difficult to free the clogs even with the machinery stopped. The heavy press of hay against the drum prevents an operator from having workable access to the drum.
From the above, it can be seen that a need exists for a hay feeding apparatus which can be operated by one operator who can remain in the vehicle cab. It is desirable to have this apparatus self-cleaning so that binder twine, baling wires, or other fibrous items will not clog the hay separating apparatus.